When Queen Maeve of that infamous Cooley cattle raid made Roscommon’s Rathcroghan her royal home, it was already known as a cult or ritualistic centre.

A new geophysical survey of the area this summer has found further evidence of its similarity to Antrim’s Navan fort and Meath’s Tara as an “óenach” or place of mass assembly – a type of pre-Christian Stradbally or Slane.

The non-invasive survey by NUI Galway’s earth and ocean science, natural science, archaeology and geography schools used ground-penetrating radar and other techniques.

The project confirmed more detail on the existence of two large pre-Christian temples built on Rathcroghan and an associated mound, with both being approached by funnel- shaped avenues.

These wooden temples would have been built over when the area became a fiefdom for the O’Conor kings of Connacht in the later medieval period, the researchers said.

NUIG archaeologist Joe Fenwick and Gary Dempsey of the Rathcroghan visitor centre said the site, northwest of the Roscommon village of Tulsk, is already known as one of four major royal locations in ancient Ireland.